Quick adjusting wrench



Mrch 7, 1950 v. H.' HEYN i 2,499,644

QUICK ADJUSTING WRENCH Filed Nov. 16, 1944 .nc-ron H, HEYN Br faf Patented Mar. 7, 195,0

UNITED- STATES Partnr trios QUICK A'DJUSTING WRENCH" Victor Heyn, Minneapolis, Minn.

ApplicationNvember 16, 19.44, Serial No. 563,649.

Z'Claims.

Thisinvention relates' to-a wrench, and: pare ticularly to a wrench having'a'Xed'jaw and a javi/"movable towardand from'said xed jaw, together with meansr permittingv ready= removal of said movable jaw. Whie'the invention is applicable to wrenches of various typesY in the embodiment of the invention disclosed, it'is shown in connection with the well-known Crescent wrench.

Itis anobject of this invention toy provide a structure of wrench having a movable jaw, in which said movable jaw is quickly and readily removable so that a different typeof'jaw may be substituted.

It isa further'object of 'the' invention toprovide a wrench-having a movable jaw, a rotatable memberengaging said jawA for moving'thesame andV novel means whereby I said rotatable member may be moved outof engagement'with said jaw so that ysaid jaw may Abe removed.

It is'more'specifically an object of vthe-invention to provide a wrench having avbody with a guideway therein, ai javv'having` a portion dis'-` posed in said guideway and movable-therein', said portion having rack teeth thereon, a rotatable member'I having teeth engaging said teeth for movingsaid jaw', said'v member normally being in position where it is= prevented vfrom moveL ment away from said: portion but being` movable axially into position where it` is. movable away from saidportion; together withresilient means holding lsaid member yin saidirst .mentionedA po:- sition.

These andl other objects' and 1 advantages: of the: invention will be fullyset forthpinV the followingdescription made in connection with the accompanying drawings inl which like:- reference characters refer torsimilar parts throughout the several views` and in which--A Fig. 1 isiaview insideelevation vof azgportion of a wrench' embodyingthespresent invention.

' Fig; 2.-` is a. View for. thecm-ostv part in .central vertical, .sectioni of saidlwrenchr.

'Fig'.b is a"view"similarto fFig.,.2' showing; the partsI indifferent positionsl` Fig.' 4 isfa'vertical section takenA onzlinei-lf of Fig. 2r asindicatedY by the. arrows.:

Fig. 'isiaeview similar to Fig: 2 showingzamodication...

Fig;y 6 is; a; View similari-to: Fig; ZeishowingA a wrench withv a: difereni'flind` offjavvtherein;v

Referring to the drawings; awrenchfisfshown having av bodyorvhead l-ationeend', and having aiahandlell`atfitsszothert end'. The head or 2 said jaw having a flat gripping surface 12a which will preferably be provided with teeth I3 for a portion of itsextent. Head l is also provided with a guideway 10a, and while this could be variously'formed` in theemloodiments of the invention illustrated, it is shown as having parallel flat sides mb' at its upper portion and being-substantially cylindrical'at its lower portion. A movable jaw i5 is provided, the same having a. gripping surface ld disposed substantially parallel toV surface lila. Jaw E5 has a portion ib disposed in guideway ma and shaped'to' sub"- stantia'lly nt therein. Portion E51) is movable or slideable in guideway Ita and this movement in the structure shown is rectilinear. Portion 15b is'provided with spaced rack teeth 15C at its lower side. The head or body l@ is provided with a recessV We below guideway ma and a ro'- tatable member I5. is provided disposed insaid recess and having helical teethv thereon constructed and arranged to mesh with the teeth |512.` Member l is in the form of avworm gear. The member i6 is axially bored to receive a shaft i8, on which it is supported and on which it is journaled. Shaft i3 projects beyond the ends of member i6 and is provided with cut away portions at its ends; thus forming downwardly directed fiat surfaces a. Said surfaces d8a restv upon and are supported by the upper ends of coiled compression springs it. Springs I9 are disposed in cylindrical recesses Mld formed in head I6. The recesses Mid are drilled from the bottomof guideway lila, and the bores illeI so formed are shownadjacent to said guideway. The member i il has la recess llf which is substantially cylindrical at its lower portion and extends laterally from recess we at one end thereof. The member I6 has a cylindrical end normally disposed in recess Ulf and is normally prevented from movement away from jaw i5 by the bottom of said recess. Iviember is has a cylindrical` re"- cess ita in its opposite end and a coiled.` compression :spring Edsurrounds shaft i8 and bears at lone end against the bottomof recess ib and at its othery end against a small washer 2l engaging aA .portion of headl i@ and disposed in a recess idg formed in said head. The ends of shaft I8 project beyond springs i9 and recesses Sd .and are disposed in recesses ith and itz respectively formedin head it; Aiplate 23 is secured to one side oi-head'ily by a' screw 2e threaded into head IGA-and having its head counter-sunk into said plate, said'platebeing fitted into a recess in head rsozthat'it'is flush with the outer side .of said head..` Plate 23 as shown in Figs. .1' to 3..is. bev- 3 eled at its upper end so that the recess receiving it is somewhat undercut.

In Fig. 6 a jaw member 28 is shown which has a portion 28a shaped similarly to portion I5b and adapted to be movable in guideway |a. Portion 28a has teeth 28h thereon similar to teeth |5c, and these will be engaged by member I6 as described. Member 28 has an upstanding central portion 28e of reduced thickness, and a jaw 29 is provided having spaced sides disposed at either side of portion 28e and pivotally connected thereto by a pivot rivet 21. One side of member 29 is provided with a slot 29a, and a small headed screw 30 is screwed into portion 28e and disposed in slot 29a. Screw 30 limits the swinging movement of jaw member 29. A plate or sear spring 3| is secured to the top of portion 28e by a small headed screw 32. Spring 3| extends upwardly and has its free end disposed beneath a small pin 33 secured in member 29 and extending between the spaced sides thereof. Jaw 29 is preferably provided with sharpened teeth 29h.

The jaw 29 has high utility in gripping a pipe or other cylindrical member. A slight rocking movement of jaw 29 about pivot 3D is possible and this results in the teeth 29h and I3 firmly engaging and gripping the cylindrical body. When jaw 29 and its supporting member 28 are substituted for jaw I5 the wrench is converted into a pipe wrench.

In operation the jaw I5 will be moved by the operator turning member I6 with his fingers. The body I0 is of comparatively small thickness as shown in Fig. 4, and member I6 projects somewhat at the sides thereof so that it can be easily engaged by the fingers of the operator. Jaw I5 can be moved toward or from jaw I2 by reverse movements of member I5. Member I6 is normally held with its end disposed in recess ID by spring 2D so that it cannot move away from jaw I5. It is desired at times to remove jaw I5 so that another jaw, such as shown in Fig. 6, may be substituted therefor. To so remove the jaw I5, it is given a movement toward lixed jaw I2 or pushed toward said jaw. This movement also moves member I6 against the pressure of spring 20. This moves the end of member I6 out of recess If and brings member I5 wholly into alignment with recess Ille. Member I6 is now moved downwardly into recess IIlc, shaft I8 moving against the pressure of springs I9. Member I6 is thus moved away from jaw I5 and the teeth of member I6 are disengaged from the teeth |5c. Jaw I5 can now be moved or slid out of guideway I 0a and thus bodily removed. Another jaw having a portion I5b can now be moved into the guideway Illa. Member I5 will now be released and permitted to move into the engagement with the teeth on the substituted jaw. When member I6 so moves, the end thereof is moved into recess If by spring 20. The wrench is now in condition for operation.

In Fig. 5 a modified structure is shown in which the head 40 has a fixed jaw 40a provided with a gripping surface 40h equipped with teeth 40e. Jaw 40a is similar in all respects to jaw I2 above described. Head 40 is provided with a guideway 49d which is identical in shape with guideway IIla above described. A movable jaw 4I has a portion 4Ia disposed in, fitting in and slidable in guideway 40d. Jaw 4I is similar to jaw I5 above described. Jaw 4I has spaced teeth 4Ib at the lower side of portion 4m, and these are the helical teeth 42a thereon. Member 42 has one end thereof of cylindrical form and normally disposed in a recess 40e formed in head 40. The recess 40e extends from one end of a larger recess 40) formed in head 40 and largely disposed below member 42. Member 42 has a recess 42h in the end thereof which is disposed in recess 40e, which recess 42b is shown as substantially conical. A pin 43 is threaded into one side of head 4U and has a reduced portion 43a with a rounded end disposed in recess 42h. Screw 43 is thus coaxial with member 42. Member 42 at its other end is provided with an axial bore in which is disposed a pin 44. A coiled compression spring 45 is disposed in said bore, engaging the bottom thereof at one end and engaging the inner end of pin 44 at its other end. The outer end of pin 44 is somewhat rounded and is disposed in a shallow conical recess at the upper end of a recess 40g formed at one end of recess 40f.

In the operation of the structure shown in Fig. 5, member 42 will normally be held in the position shown in Fig. 5 by pressure of spring 45. The cylindrical end of member 42 is thus held in recess 42e and movement of 42 away from jaw 4I is prevented. Jaw 4I can thus be moved toward and from jaw 40a, by reverse movements of member 42. When it is desired to remove jaw 4I it is pushed toward jaw 40a, and in this movement it also moves member 42 with it, thus compressing spring 45. Member 42 is thus brought into complete alignment with recess 401 and it can be moved or swung downwardly away from jaw 4I and its portion 4| a. The recess 42h permits member 42 to move sufciently to become disengaged from teeth 4Ib without being completely released from pin 43. Member 42 is thus moved out of engagement with portion 4 Ia but cannot be bodily removed from the wrench. When member 42 is thus moved downwardly out of engagement with portion 4I, jaw 4| can be moved or slid in guideway 40d and bodily removed from head 40. Another jaw, such as shown in Fig. 6, can then be placed in position and member 42 moved upwardly so that its teeth engage in the teeth of the new jaw. When member 42 is moved upwardly, spring 45 again moves the cylindrical end thereof into recess 40e and the parts are again in normal position. It will be understood that pin 44 moves downwardly in recess 40g when member 42 is moved downwardly.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a novel, quite simple, and very efficient structure of wrench which permits bodily removal of the movable jaw. The jaw can be easily and quickly removed by very simple movements of the parts. The same or another jaw can also easily and quickly be then replaced. By having such a readily removable jaw, diierent types of jaws can be placed in the wrench and its utility is greatly increased. As stated, when a jaw member, such as shown in Fig. 6, is placed in the wrench, the wrench is converted into a very eiicient pipe wrench. Should the regular jaw I5 be broken, it could be readily replaced with a new jaw. The size or dimensions of the wrench are not increased by the use 0f the novel structure disclosed herein. The parts are simple and comparatively few and are so placed that there is no danger or possibility of the same dropping out of the wrench. The wrench has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be very successful and efficient.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement andA proportions ofthe parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combination of parts disclosed and dened in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wrench having in combination, an integral body having a fixed jaw at one end and formed as a handle at its other end,said body having a guide- Way between said fixed jaw and handle, a movable jaw having a portion disposed in and slidable in said guideway transversely of said handle and provided with teeth at one side, a rotatable member having threads thereon engaging said teeth for moving said movable jaw toward and from said fixed jaw, said body having a recess there in extending from said guideway, said recess being of such size that said rotatable member may move therein out of engagement with said movable jaw, said body having a smaller recess at one end of said recess, said member having one end adapted to be disposed in said smaller recess for holding said member in engagement with said portion of said movable jaw, resilient means acting to hold said end of said member in said smaller recess, said member being movable axially against the pressure of said resilient means to move said end out of said smaller recess and then being movable perpendicularly to said guideway and its own axis into said first mentioned recess out of engagement with said movable jaw.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, a shaft extending axially through and supporting said rotatable member, resilient means at each end of said rotatable member engaging said shaft and acting to move said rotatable member into engagement with said movable jaw in a direction at right angles to the axis of said shaft and rotatable member.

VICTOR H. HEYN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS American Machinist, page 529, Apr. 6, 1922. 

